Thursday, November 21, 2013

My guest today is one of the coolest folks I know. She's been a good friend and, frankly, a damned good author. Please welcome C.W. LaSart to my blog.

C.W. LaSart (Left) and Robert McCammon at World Horror Con 2013

JJ: When did you start writing?

C.W.: I started writing as soon as I was able to write. I
didn’t take it serious until just a few years ago, but there were very few
times when I wasn’t writing something.

JJ: What was the first story you remember writing?

C.W.: It would have to be a terrible little chapbook I made in
the second or third grade. A blatant case of plagiarism, my Mother still
treasured it. She may even still have it.

JJ: What genre is your most preferred?

C.W.: I prefer both reading and writing horror. I read a little
fantasy from time to time, but horror is my main genre for both.

JJ: What challenges you the most in your writing?

C.W.: Adopting a schedule. I am a very fast writer, but I am
also very lazy. I procrastinate until the last minute and often miss deadlines
because of it.

JJ: What is your favorite thing about being an author?

C.W.: My favorite thing about being an author is when a
stranger contacts you to tell you how much they enjoyed your work. The opinions
of friends and family should always be viewed with some measure of skepticism,
but a stranger has no reason to lie.

JJ: What do you like least about being an author?

C.W.: Being constantly hounded to read other people’s work. My
reading list is huge and I am always contacted with requests to read someone’s
unpublished or self-published novel. Sometimes they are very blunt and rude
about it.

JJ: How many books do you currently have available?

C.W.: I have one short story collection, Ad Nauseam: 13 Tales
of Extreme Horror, published by Dark Moon Books. I also have over a dozen short
stories published in anthologies, but only the one book that’s just me.

JJ: What projects are you currently working on?

C.W.: I am working on several shorts for projects that I’ve
already agreed to, and I have two novels currently in the first draft phase.

JJ: Do you have any books coming out soon?

C.W.: Nothing too soon. I usually have some anthology or
another being released, but at the moment, I have no release dates to share.
Sorry!

JJ: Which book, or series, is your favorite?

C.W.: Now that’s a bit embarrassing, because it’s not horror at
all. My favorite series, hands down, would have to be A Song of Ice and Fire by
George R.R. Martin. I can’t help it. I’m a total addict. The time between books
in that series is killing me, and I have a terrible fear that the author could
die before it’s finished and I will NEVER KNOW!

JJ: Who are some of your favorite authors?

C.W.: Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, Robert McCammon, George
R.R. Martin and Brian Lumley are the ones that come instantly to mind, however
I also enjoy Jonathan Maberry, Dan Simmons, David Wellington and many others. I read a lot, so there are
just too many to mention them all.

JJ: Which book(s) inspire you the most?

C.W.: Pet Semetary by Stephen King, was my first real horror
novel, so it definitely had a lasting impact. But I would have to say that my
inspiration as a writer has always been Robert McCammon. When he gave up
writing, I was devastated, but he is back and better than ever!

JJ: Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what
band(s) do you play?

C.W.: Not at all. Music distracts me. I have always wished I
could listen to it while I write, but I need white noise only in the background, the more neutral, the better.
Absolute silence is as bad as music to me.

JJ: Any hobbies?

C.W.: I used to have hobbies, and then I had children. Of
course, I read a great deal, and I like to cook. I volunteer more time than I
care to admit to the Bram Stoker Award ® Committee as their Head Verifier. I
also like to practice the art of napping. I’m very good at that!

JJ: Tell us some more about yourself including your website and
where we can find you on social media sites.

C.W.: This is an excerpt of Jack And Jill. It’s the first
story I ever sold, and still one of my favorites.

Jack sat at the worn kitchen table, his hands buried in the guts of an
ancient radio, tinkering with the parts in a vain attempt to fix the antique.
He told the owner, Mrs. Jones, that he feared the radio was beyond fixing, but
she insisted with a clear statement that she held complete faith in his
abilities.He mentioned how cheap it'd
cost to replace nowadays, but she liked that one and would hear nothing of the
new fangled junk they peddled at the ritzy stores in town.In the end, he let himself be brow beaten by
an eighty-four year old woman who stood a foot and a half shorter than himself.

Though he mainly
worked as a handy man around town, word of mouth brought him some additional
side jobs when people started to realize his proficiency with small household
electronics. It was difficult to find steady work, being an ex-con, so he
happily accepted whatever odd jobs came his way. This one, however, proved more
work than the twenty-five dollar fee was worth.

A scraping sound
from the room above the kitchen drew his attention from his task.

She was moving
around up there again.

He sighed and lit
another cigarette, dragging deeply and rubbing his eyes as he exhaled a cloud
of bluish smoke.

Too soon. He had nearly been caught the last time.

He turned his
attention back to the project at hand, hoping that if he pretended not to hear
her, she’d return to sleep, or whatever else she did up there. He no longer
went upstairs.

He could smell her
sickly sweet odor long before he heard the moist slap of her feet on the
linoleum behind him. Jack sat up straight in his chair and stared directly
ahead at the fading rose-patterned wallpaper, keeping his breaths shallow
through his mouth to avoid the stench of decay. Only one thought went through
his mind over and over again, like a dog chasing its tail.

Don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me.

Her gravelly voice
made the hair on his arms stand up. “I’m hungry,” she said.

“I know.”

Click the picture to be whisked away to Amazon to buy this terrifying collection.